


don't get attached to someone you could lose

by lostin_space



Series: It Only Takes A Taste [11]
Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Drug Use, Friends With Benefits, Implied/Referenced Harassment, M/M, New Year's Eve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:27:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22071781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostin_space/pseuds/lostin_space
Summary: New Year’s Eve meant Isobel and Michael were both dragged to parties they weren’t fans of.
Relationships: Isobel Evans & Michael Guerin, Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Series: It Only Takes A Taste [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1529921
Comments: 26
Kudos: 98





	don't get attached to someone you could lose

**Author's Note:**

> for my lovely anon who asked if these two losers were going to have a new year's kiss ❤️️

“That hat is outrageous!”

Michael stuck his tongue out at Isobel and swatted her hand away as she reached to touch it. She simply laughed and they leaned back against the wall.

New Year’s Eve meant Isobel and Michael were both dragged to parties they weren’t fans of. Hell, everyone had come back to school earlier specifically to go to Dean Harries’ frat party. And, just like any other party, Isobel and Michael waited to the side. Isobel didn’t like the disorganized, reckless aura of parties like this, she liked fancy parties where she got to play Blair Waldorf for a moment. Michael, on the other hand, found them ungodly overwhelming. He had an internal timer set to only take so much of the chaos before he had to leave.

Their friends did not share these feelings.

A quick glance around the room showed massive dork Maxwell Evans downing beer after beer while a small crew of his frat brothers chanted ’ _chug, chug, chug’_. Not far from that, Liz was wasted and dancing like no one was watching. Probably because they weren’t. Maria was leading Dean Harries himself somewhere nice and private because apparently going into the new year with a kiss just wasn’t enough. And then Alex…

“Who is that?” Michael asked, unabashedly pointing to the guy that Alex was talking too with his sexy little smile and those all too familiar ‘fuck me’ eyes.

“I don’t know. Why, jealous?” she asked playfully. He scoffed.

“No, I just haven’t seen him before.”

Michael felt weird as he watched Alex flirt with this other guy. He knew that they weren’t in a relationship and they were just friends who slept together, but they had also spent a week and a half in complete isolation. He learned a lot about Alex Manes in that time. He’d learned how long his showers lasted, how often he washed his hair, how late he slept whenever he didn’t have school or practice, how he fixed his coffee, and, more importantly, how he would cuddle a lot longer as long as he was watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine. It was the most intimate he’d ever been with anyone and, admittedly, lines were blurring.

Those blurred lines made it feel a bit more like betrayal as Michael watched them exchange small touches and get closer. It was impossible to continue when the guy leaned in for a kiss and Alex didn’t stop him.

“Alright, time’s up, I gotta get out of here,” Michael said, turning completely away from the hellish scene behind him. Isobel didn’t argue.

They both went and sat in his truck and began their long wait for Max to finally be ready to leave. He wished he hadn’t agreed to be DD. He just wanted to go home and reassess his relationship with Alex so he would be prepared next time he saw him. He didn’t want to act possessive whenever he knew that they weren’t together. Alex wasn’t his. He knew that.

“Be honest. You’re jealous,” Isobel said bluntly. Michael took a deep breath and clutched the steering wheel.

“Alex is the first guy I’ve ever slept with. I think that makes it seem like a bigger deal than it is and that’s my fault,” Michael said. She simply hummed in response.

Michael spent the next thirty minutes repeating in his mind that this didn’t matter. They weren’t together. He knew that. He couldn’t be jealous. He did it until he convinced himself it was true.

And then his phone lit up.

_Alex: 2nd floor bathroom_

Michael stared at it for a moment, processing it before he looked over to Isobel and excused himself to go find Alex. 

It seemed even louder when he went back inside. People were more hectic, more sloppy. He knew it was only a few minutes away from midnight so they were probably only going to get worse. Michael could feel his pulse getting faster at the idea.

He got to the bathroom that he only knew about because of the last party that included Michael holding back Liz’s hair when she threw up. He knocked and the door creaked open just enough for Alex’s hand to shoot out and drag him in. 

Looking at Alex up close for the first time that day felt like a breath of fresh air. His hair was all over the place and he had sparkly highlighter on his cheekbones that were impossible to ignore when they _weren’t_ being called attention to. He had on tight jeans and a tight shirt and he looked so fucking good. Michael couldn’t blame that other guy for wanting a taste.

“Hey,” Alex whispered, his hands going to Michael’s chest and rubbing slightly. Michael furrowed his eyebrows at that.

“What’s wrong? Why are you hiding in the bathroom? Why’d you text me?” Michael asked. Alex shushed him, looking at him like he’d lost it. Michael gave him another once over, only this time noticing his bloodshot eyes and his flushed face. “Are you high?" 

"Shh!”

Michael scoffed and almost took a step away from him. Alex didn’t get high. Alex didn’t even drink. Fuck, Alex didn’t even drink dairy because it was bad for his vocal cords.

“What are you on?”

“Jen gave me something,” he said, pausing for a minute, “Or Jim?”

“Alex, some random guy gave you a random drug and you _took_ it? Are you insane?” Michael demanded. Alex simply grabbed his shirt.

“Shhh, he told me to. Had to,” Alex whispered.

“Had to? What do you mean, had to?”

Alex gave him this look that told him he couldn’t find the words and Michael tried to fill in the blank.

“Are you saying he drugged you?" 

"No!”

“Did he force you?" 

"I… No?”

Michael stared at him for a bit longer and decided the guy probably just made him feel like he didn’t have much of a choice. Michael had never been on the receiving end of that feeling, but he knew Isobel had. He knew there had been many situations where she’d done things simply because she was scared to piss some guy off. He didn’t like that it happened to her and he didn’t like that it happened to Alex.

“Okay, well I got you,” Michael said. Alex nodded and let Michael pull him in for a hug.

Downstairs, they could hear people counting down. It was too loud and Michael hated it. Alex squeezed him tight.

“It’s New Year’s,” Alex whispered, “Can I come home at you?" 

"Uh, you don’t have a choice. I’m watching to make sure you don’t have a bad reaction to whatever that guy gave you,” Michael told him. He nodded his head before slightly pulling out of the hug. He rested his forehead on Michael’s just as everyone screamed ’ _Happy New Year’_ beneath them.

“I’m happy I met you,” Alex said.

“Me too.”

Alex pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. It was the only viable New Year’s kiss he’d ever had and he reciprocated with a kiss to Alex’s forehead.

His hard work of ignoring the blurry lines went to shit.

“Let’s get out of here.”

**Author's Note:**

> also on my tumblr: spaceskam


End file.
